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Sadly, Mr Junior, 51, was one of those killed in the crash, which wiped out most of the Chapecoense team, who were on their way to Medellin for the Copa Sudamerica finals against Atletico Nacional tomorrow.

The match was pitted to be one of the biggest in the club’s history, but only three players from the team survived the crash.

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The Colombia crash killed 71 people

Matheus posted a photo of him and his father on Instagram with the caption: “Friends, me, my brother and my mum are okay. We need strength and some privacy, especially my mother.

“But thank you to everyone for all the messages. I was in SP (Sao Paulo) today and I did not board because I had forgotten my passport.

“We are strong and we will get through this. Thank you for all of your messages.”

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Caio Junior, the Chapocoense coach, was sadly killed in the crash

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Alan Ruschel (right) survived but player Danilo Padhila sadly died

One player, defender Alan Ruschel, 27, posted photos to social media of him and goalkeeper Danilo Padhila on the plane hours before it went down.

Padhila was initially rushed to hospital with injuries when the airline went down, but later died in hospital.

The flight, run by Venezuelan company LaMia, was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members when it crashed at 10.15pm local time on Monday - five minutes from landing - in the El Gordo mountains close to the city of Medellin, Colombia's second largest city.

The cause of the crash has not yet been confirmed but Colombia’s aviation authority are investigating reports that it may have been caused by electrical problems or the aircraft running out of fuel.